Harry Potter Ring and Horcrux Rings

Harry Potter Horcrux Bookmark Collection from Warner Bros. Creating a single Horcrux allows one to gain the ability to be resurrected if his body is destroyed - the more Horcruxes one creates, the closer he is to achieving true immortality. Voldemort created seven: Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, Tom Riddle's Diary, Helg $34.95

Harry Potter Luna Lovegood Jewelry Set from Warner Bros. Luna Lovegood is beautifully represented in this special jewelry set inspired by the world of Harry Potter. This set features a light blue beaded cork 30-inch double string necklace, dark blue and black beaded beetle ring (approximate size 5) and a set of $49.95

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Harry Potter Sterling Silver Horcrux Ring from Warner Bros. Keep the magic of the Harry Potter world close at hand with this Horcrux ring. This authentic prop replica is crafted in sterling silver and plated in 24 K gold with a 1/2 inch stone. Collector ring box included. Please use the drop down size menu to s $116.96

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Paul Joined: 4 November 2001 Posts: 3064 Location: Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, England	Posted: Tuesday 30 August 2011 06 07 33 pm    Post subject: Re: ROLL CALL: Anyone alive out there?!? in topic:ROLL CALL: Anyone alive out there?!? Makes mental note - must tell the house elves to take coco pops, chocolate cake and choccy ice cream off the menu. I'm so tempted to pull the string to let those members out but I'd feel so bad for whoever gets a glittery caramel Lady Gaga covered in duck feathers and wearing the One Ring to Rule them All landing on top of them!
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2538 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Monday 26 April 2010 01 10 46 pm    Post subject: Re: Beyond the Shadow in topic:Beyond the Shadow Chapter 7: Kenzie's News Five owls, ten o'clock clinic duty, a bloke who had an unfortunate incident with some sort of snake, and all the batches of Wolfsbane to brew were what greeted me when I got to work the next day. Apparently the other brewer capable of brewing Wolfsbane was ill and couldn't brew, which left it all to me. The five owls sat untouched on my desk as I quickly admitted the snake bite bloke and got him fixed up. I kept him for observation and then ran down to the basement to start the Wolfsbane before getting up to the clinic by ten. Clinic was as crazy as usual, even more so since Farina's group of residents were working there as well. The phrase 'too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the soup' applies to healers as well. Too many healers in the clinic is as bad as not enough. They were all clambering to help and there just wasn't enough work. I was happy when I got to leave and work on the Wolfsbane. I brought my four letters with me and opened them once I had finished adding necessary ingredients. The first two were junk, advertisements for various apothecaries that wanted me to endorse them, so I ripped them up and threw them away. The third was from the potion testers, telling me my new Wolfsbane passed the tests and I could start brewing it for consumption. I grinned and immediately set up another cauldron. Just in time for the next full moon! I always tried not to get overly excited about potions that passed because that didn't mean they'd work. It just meant they weren't harmful. Chances were, this potion would have no effect on Matt whatsoever. The last letter remained untouched for the next half hour while I carefully began to concoct my newest Wolfsbane. Once it was ready to simmer for a while, I sat down for the first time in hours and opened the last letter. It was postmarked like a Muggle letter which meant it was either from Cinda or my friend, Kenzie. The Australian stamps told me it was the latter. Kenzie Dawe and I have been friends since we were born because she grew up down the road from Richard and Cinda. When I was little she was pretty much my only friend and she was the only person I remained in contact with from Australia. However, she was a Muggle so we mostly communicated through the Muggle post. Occasionally I'd call her on Mum's mobile phone (she had it to talk to Cinda), but not much since it cost so much. We hadn't actually seen each other in ages, not since Cinda moved to England. [i]Dear Amy,[/i] the letter began. [i]You are never going to believe this. It's such a small world, it scares me sometimes. Cameron proposed today. Well, he proposed after he told me 'we need to talk'. This of course got me all worried that he was going to break up with me, but thank God that wasn't it. Cameron said he needed to tell me something, something that could really affect our relationship. He started by telling me about his school, about how it had shunned electronics and anything modern, about how his family was the same way. I immediately interrupted him and told him that you went to the same type of school and that there was only one per country. He asked what your name was, since I had never told him your last name before. I told him and he thought for a while and then he said, 'I remember her. We went to the same school.' I know everything now, Amy. I know you're a witch. I know magic is real and I know that your school was a school for magic. Cameron's a wizard. But that's not all. I know why you moved to England all those years ago. I know about your dad's job and about Matt. Cameron told me everything. I'm not going to lie, it freaked me out a little. The magic thing. It was like too much to take in, that one of my best friends and my boyfriend can do magic. But I'm ok with it. Actually, I think it's really brilliant. Anyway, once he knew I was ok with it, Cameron proposed. We haven't set a date yet. I'll let you know as soon as we do. Hope you're doing all right, talk to you soon! Love, Kenzie[/i] I sat staring at the letter for a few minutes to let everything sink in. It was just too much all at once. Kenzie was engaged, her fiance was a wizard, her fiance knew who I was, and now Kenzie knew all about magic and that Matt was a werewolf. The last part honestly did not bother me much. Out of all the people I knew in Australia, the Dawes were the ones who would have accepted Matt for who he was. But unfortunately, the Statute of Secrecy prevented us from letting them know the truth. Now at least Kenzie did, and there was a part of me that was happy about it. Everything else, though, I wasn't too sure. Cameron Clint, I knew the name from Kenzie's telling me about him, but it didn't ring a bell. He'd probably been a few years above me. Of course he'd remember me, at least my last name. No one living in Wizarding Australia over the age of 12 wouldn't know my last name. I wish I did remember who he was. My most burning question was, what did Cameron Clint think about werewolves? Did he share the opinion that werewolves were evil, like most of wizarding Australia? And if he did, how could Kenzie marry him? Merlin, I had to find that out. If Kenzie was going to marry this bloke, she had to at least know his opinion of Matt, someone who had practically been her cousin when we were growing up. Oh, Merlin, the wedding! Son of a pixie, that was going to be hard. Cameron Clint would surely have a whole slew of witch and wizard relatives and friends, all whom would remember my dad and the fiasco at the Ministry when he was fired. Maybe I could use Polyjuice and avoid the awkward stares. Kenzie was sure to invite my whole family, too, which meant my parents and Matt were going to be subjected to whatever was going to happen as well. Then there was the fact that this was Kenzie's wedding, her big day, and I didn't want it to get ruined by people bringing up old news and prejudices. I had to talk to Kenzie. I did some quick conversions in my head and realized it was one in the morning in Sydney. I'd have to wait until at least eight o'clock that night to call her. The remainder of the day went by notoriously slow. I continued brewing both batches of Wolfsbane and checked on the bloke with the snake bite. He was doing fine but I was keeping him overnight just in case. I tried not to think about Kenzie and Cameron, but it was no use. I had to call her. I went straight to my parents' house from work since I'd had to stay late to work on the potions anyway. It was nearly eight when I appeared behind the house and walked around to the front. “Hello?” I called out as I let myself in. “Amy?” Mum replied from the living room. “I didn't think you were coming over today. Is everything all right?” “Fine,” I said as I walked into the living room. “I've got news, though.” “What is it?” Dad asked, looking up from his copy of the Evening Prophet. “Kenzie's engaged,” I said. “Oh, that's wonderful!” Mum smiled. “To the man she's been dating? Cameron, or something?” “Cameron Clint,” I said as I sat down next to Mum on the couch. “And you're never going to believe what he is. He's a wizard.” “You're kidding!” Mum exclaimed. “Wow, small world,” Dad replied. “It gets smaller,” I said. “Kenzie put two and two together about me, going to a weird school that didn't use electronics, and told Cameron about me. Apparently he remembers us, and told Kenzie about us, so she knows the real reason why we moved, and she knows Matt's a werewolf.” “I'd be surprised if he didn't,” Dad muttered. Mum let out a small gasp. “I never thought this would happen, but I suppose there are worse people who could know. There are worse people who do know.” “That's what I thought. Well, I just stopped by to let you know,” I said. “Mum, would you mind if I used your mobile to call Kenzie? I want to find out more about Cameron.” “Go ahead,” Mum told me. “You know where it is.” I went straight to the kitchen where Mum kept her mobile in the cupboard next to the refrigerator. Kenzie's number was programmed in, so a few seconds later, I had the phone to my ear and it was ringing. “Hello?” she said as she picked up. “Kenzie!” I replied. “It's Amy!” “Oh, Amy!” she exclaimed. “I didn't even notice your mum's name on the caller ID.” “I know you're probably at work, but I got your letter today,” I said. “I can talk for a little bit. The kids won't get here for another twenty minutes.” Kenzie taught second grade at one of the primary schools in Sydney. “But Amy, I just still can't believe this! All those years, you were at a magic school and I had no idea!” “I couldn't tell you because of the-” “Statute of Secrecy, I know now!” she said excitedly. “I think it's amazing, I really do. It's like living a fairy tale or something.” “Not really,” I muttered. “Listen, what exactly did Cameron tell you about us?” “That your dad was fired because he broke some stupid law and that's why you had to move. Plus that your brother doesn't have some rare disease, he's a werewolf, but that's what I don't understand. Cameron says there's some sort of potion that's supposed to make werewolves harmless, but Matt never takes it?” I sighed. Cameron apparently didn't have his facts straight. “Not exactly. We didn't move because Dad was fired. We moved because the school I used to go to, the one Cameron went to, wouldn't let Matt attend because he's a werewolf. It just so happened that Dad got fired shortly after my parents decided to move,” I explained. “And Matt doesn't take the potion because it doesn't work for him. Look, there's something you have to know about wizarding society, and that is that most people think of werewolves as animals, as monsters, seeing them only for that one night out of twenty-eight. A lot of people don't think they deserve to be treated as people, go to school, or even have wands.” “That's awful,” Kenzie whispered. “I know, but it's true. It's better in England than in Australia, but not perfect. So, there's something I have to know. I don't remember Cameron at all, so I have to know, what does he think about werewolves?” I asked quietly. “I asked him,” Kenzie said after a pause. “He explained a bit about the discrimination and prejudice. The thing is, he doesn't really have an opinion. His dad is really prejudiced, but he disagrees with his dad. Cameron's, well, he's had issues with his dad. Apparently he wanted Cameron to get into the Ministry, like he had, but Cameron wanted to open a Quidditch shop, so he did. They talk, but not much. He is invited to the wedding, though.” It was very odd to hear Kenzie use the word 'Quidditch'. “All right,” I replied. “I just, I don't want anything to happen at the wedding, when people see my dad after not seeing him for years.” “Nothing will happen. That's my day, not theirs. Don't worry. And Amy, I was wondering if you could be one of my bridesmaids,” Kenzie replied. “I would love to,” I said. “Do you have a date yet?” “Sometime in September,” Kenzie answered. “I'm going to have to go, but I'll talk to you soon.” We said our goodbyes and I closed the phone. It could have been worse, I supposed. Cameron could have hated werewolves. But his dad, well, the thought of his dad and mine in the same room made me kind of nervous. “What's the verdict?” Dad asked as I went back into the living room. “Cameron doesn't really have an opinion on werewolves, but his dad is prejudiced,” I sighed. “And while the two of them had some sort of falling out, his dad is invited to the wedding.” “Clint...Clint,” Dad mused, “wait, I think I remember him. Alexander Clint, head of the Department for Magical Transportation. He's the reason we always have to fly when we visit Australia.” I groaned. “This is going to be an interesting wedding.” ****** Whenever I mentioned to my coworkers or acquaintances that one of my friends was getting married (and believe me, it's happened quite a bit), they always just said 'well, that's wonderful' while giving me a somewhat sympathetic look. It drove me nuts. I knew what they were thinking, 'oh, another one of Amy's friends is getting married and she's not, that's got to be awful.' The truth was, it wasn't awful. Why should I get married when I still hadn't found the perfect guy? It's not like I was going to get married just for the sake of getting married. Not everyone finds their soulmate before they turn thirty. Sure, I'd dated a few guys, but so far none of them had been able to deal with my work hours. They didn't like having to stay home on a Friday night because I was on call or be by themselves on a weekend because I had to brew Wolfsbane Potion. Plenty of people managed to live happily with a spouse when they were a Healer, but so far I couldn't. Victoire and Teddy did it and I had a feeling Ted's odd work hours helped them deal with it. But I wasn't only a healer; I was a brewer, too, and that meant I had nearly twice as much work. My hours were worse than Victoire's and guys didn't like that. In fact, my last three relationships, the only ones I'd had since I graduated Hogwarts, ended because the bloke didn't want to spend the rest of their life with someone who was at work more than at home. One of those had stemmed from a blind date Victoire set me up on, and since then she had given up on finding dates for me. I was grateful. Kenzie had had the same luck with guys as I had, until she met Cameron. So, I was nothing but happy that she was getting married, not including those slight reservations I had about Cameron's family. It had been practically unbearable for Kenzie when her little sister, Morgan, got married a few years ago because all of her older relatives kept subtly asking when she was going to tie the knot. Victoire was thrilled when I told her Kenzie was getting married. In fact she was what I would call overly excited and then began crying out of happiness. I attributed it to the pregnancy hormones, which were still raging. So far, Victoire's pregnancy was running the same course as it had with Sophie. Morning sickness, cravings, raging hormones. The baby bump started to appear in the middle of December, which caused Victoire to worry about whether any of her relatives would figure out she was pregnant before she told them. This prompted Teddy to tell her not to worry, that they would just think she'd had a few too many Christmas cookies, earning him a slap from Victoire and a promise to run out to the store for more Neapolitan ice cream. Thankfully the pickle craving had started to wane. “Can you get that?” Victoire asked as the doorbell rang. Teddy had just left for ice cream and Victoire and I were discussing the various dramas of St. Mungo's while Sophie made Christmas tree ornaments out of construction paper. “It's probably Gabriella. She said she was getting here today.” Gabriella was Victoire's younger sister by a little over two years. All they shared in common were family and the Veela blonde hair, though. While the two had followed the same Prefect and perfect student track at Hogwarts, Gabriella had gotten fed up with it and didn't wish to pursue a steady job. Ever since she graduated from Hogwarts, Gabriella had been living in France trying to make her way as an artist. She had fulfilled the cliché of 'starving artist' and moved from flat to flat every few months. Currently, she was living with another artist, this one a wizard, but Victoire doubted they'd be together much longer. Gabriella grew restless easily and never stayed with the same bloke for more than a couple months. I opened the door and there was Gabriella, dressed in multi-colored robes and carrying a tattered duffel bag. Her hair was long, wavy, and going every whichway and her signature wide grin was plastered on her face. “Amy!” she said as she threw her arms around me. “Haven't seen you in ages! Are you watching Sophie? Or is my sister here?” “She's here,” I replied as we walked back into the house. “Victoire!” Gabriella shouted once we got back into the living room. Victoire stood up and the two sisters embraced, only for Gabriella to push Victoire away and stare at her open mouthed. “Oh my God!” Gabriella shrieked as she stared directly at her stomach. Oh, Merlin, I thought. She knew. Gabriella had this incredible ability to sense things that were amiss, especially when it came to looks. When you thought your pimple wasn't visible, it was the first thing Gabriella noticed, and she was always the first to notice new haircuts, even if you'd only got a couple inches cut off. Apparently it was the same with pregnancies. “Soph,” I said as Sophie got up to give her aunt a hug. “Could you run upstairs for a few minutes?” “Why?” she asked as Gabriella returned her hug. “Your mummy just has to talk to Aunt Gabriella about something,” I replied. Sophie nodded and ran upstairs. I waited until the sound of her footsteps were gone and then looked back at Victoire and Gabriella. “When did it happen?” Gabriella asked. “September, I suppose,” Victoire answered. “I'm three months along.” “Three months?” Gabriella gasped. “When were you going to tell me?” “Christmas Eve,” Victoire said. “I haven't told anyone yet. Amy's the only one who knows.” “Oh. But Victoire, I thought you weren't going to have anymore kids?” Gabriella asked. “Does this one have lycanthropy, too?” “I don't know,” Victoire said quietly. “They can't do the test until the second trimester, so I'm getting tested next week.” “But won't you know without the test?” Gabriella wondered. “Didn't Sophie get restless during full moons?” “I've been on Wolfsbane as a precaution, so I don't know. If the baby does have lycanthropy, the Wolfsbane is working,” Victoire explained. “That's good, then,” Gabriella replied as she gave Victoire a hug. “Whichever way it is, you're going to be fine.” “Maybe,” Victoire sighed. “How long are you here for?” “I don't know,” Gabriella said. “At least until New Year's, but after that, who knows? Whenever I feel like going back. I broke it off with Francoise before I left.” Victoire and I exchanged glances. No surprises there. “I thought I might spend some time with Georgia before going back,” Gabriella explained. Georgia was one of their cousins and the same age as Gabriella. She played Keeper for England and was no more ready to settle down than Gabriella was. “Gab, could you not mention anything about the pregnancy to anyone?” Victoire asked. “I still want to tell the family on Christmas Eve.” “Don't worry,” Gabriella smiled. “My lips are sealed.” That was true. Gabriella could keep a secret better than anyone I knew, except perhaps myself and my own family. “Are you hungry?” Victoire asked. “Can I get you something?” “Sure, so long as you're not going to dip any pickles in ice cream in front of me,” Gabriella smirked. “That phase is over,” Victoire laughed. “Now it's just ice cream.” “Then it looks like I got here just in time,” Gabriella grinned.
FortisUmbra Joined: 18 August 2009 Posts: 243	Posted: Wednesday 3 February 2010 11 06 57 am    Post subject: Re: The Guilds of Magic in topic:The Guilds of Magic "Now remember self transfiguration is the most difficult form of transfiguration" Luke Mason said to his class. "It requires absolute concentration and prodigious skill. Changing one's form is much more complicated than hyper mutating one's self." Luke glanced around at his students as he lectured noticing that one or two of them where sleeping. "Meredith!" Luke called out to a blond headed senior with her head resting on her desk. She sat up immediately and looked around. "Would you be kind enough to be the first to attempt self transfiguration?" Luke asked. He knew that this was cruel making her stand in front of the class and attempt something so difficult but he was always mad when someone fell asleep. Meredith walked to the front of the class room and looking a little nervous asked what she was to turn into. Luke thought for a moment before saying "Try a jackrabbit." She nodded and, facing the class, closed her eyes and got a look of intense concentration on her face. The class waited while she concentrated. A few minutes passed by and several of the students began muttering and giggling. Then with a slight popping Meredith sprouted rabbit ears and white hair all over her body. The class burst out laughing and Meredith blushed. Luke snapped his fingers and Meredith changed back to normal in an instant. "Settle down!" Luke shouted and the class quickly settled down and was once more looking up at him. "You may sit down now Meredith" Luke said, and when he did the young girl rushed back to her seat. "Now get into groups of two and take turns attempting to become Jackrabbits until the end of class. If someone gets stuck their partner is to transfigure them back." Luke sat down at his desk and began grading some tests. The rest of the class went fine with nobody succeeding but that had been expected. Everything was normal until about ten minutes before the bell rang someone began shouting in the hall. At first Luke ignored it but soon he realized that his students had rushed to the door to listen. Luke stood up "Everyone get back to work!" no listened. They soon were standing in the hall looking at a man shouting about revolution. Luke was not surprised there had been people like this all over the place, preaching about a new life and forcing people to pay attention to the guilds. Luke sighed and knew he was not going to get their attention back and the bell was going to ring soon anyway. He sat back down. He was only half listening to the man outside his classroom but when the bell rang and the hall was once more filled with clamor he had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Ms. Elsewhere Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 886 Location: In role play game of course!	Posted: Sunday 31 January 2010 08 45 28 am    Post subject: Re: The Shadow in topic:The Shadow Jon made his way to the gym. It was a huge space, very decieving from the outside. The walls were fitted with mirrors and stands that held a variety of weapons. Scanning the selection, Jon noticed there were no guns. To his right as he entered the room was a room with darkened windows. The door was open and inside Jon could see two people pouring over a control panel as they looked through the darkened windows, which from the inside gave a perfect view of the entire training space. There was equipment placed here and there for weight training, climbing and so on, along with some items Jon could not classify. Strolling through the place, Jon was at a loss as to where to begin. He especially enjoyed boxing, and so he found a punching bag with gloves on the floor and decided to have a go. Upon finding this activity, he noticed that hte room expanded to another space where a proper boxing ring was set up for use. Jon slipped on the gloves and tapped he nuckles together to set them tight, and then started to walk around the punching bag. He threw a punch, sending the bag rocking. He shouldered it when it returned and then punched it twice when it swung back again. He continue this for a while, and then paused, breathing heavily. He looked down at the floor, which was carpeted in most places, but was cement floor mostly. He lifted his foot, closed his eyes and brought it down again with force. A sickening crack sounded off the quiet walls of the gym, and when he opened his eyes he saw that no one was really fussed by what he had done. He looked down and saw a small crack on the ground. "I'd advice you don't vandalise this place. " a voice behind him called out.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2538 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 13 January 2010 11 07 10 am    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 18: Advanced Lessons Much to Albus's surprise, the anamatek was still sitting in Balladanis's classroom the next class. Albus really thought Kendrick would have made him get rid of it. The class continued practicing on it and after a few sessions with it, Albus got used to the fact that it was an anamatek. As long as it didn't turn into a dementor or a chimaera or something else really dangerous, Albus didn't mind. Practicing on the anamatek was a lot like practicing dueling anyway. That's how Albus saw it. Defense classes were beginning to be a lot like dueling practice. Albus was very happy about this, especially since the next dueling tournament was quickly upon him. It took place on a Saturday in the middle of November, the day before the second inter-school dueling tournament. "Nice to see that you actually showed up today, Potter," Malfoy smirked as Albus and Amanda sat down at their team table. "Shut it, Malfoy," Lynley Anderson said as she walked past Albus, "Or you won't duel in the next tournament." Malfoy scowled and Albus smiled to himself. He sat down and looked to the front of the room. The usual dueling rings were set up and Neville was standing in front of one. Balladanis was standing in front of the other one. He must have been chosen to be the other professor in charge of the dueling club since Albus's dad left. The tournament began a short while later and Albus sat back to wait for his turn. As much as Albus loved dueling, he couldn't stand having to wait while everyone else dueled. He couldn't wait until he was a fifth year and could try out for the regular dueling club. The teams were much smaller for that and Albus would get to duel more during each tournament. If he made the team, that is. "Albus Potter and Kaden Dursley," Balladanis announced. Albus looked up and stared at him. Kaden? Albus turned to gape at Amanda, who shrugged. Albus was going to have to duel Kaden? Albus had yet to duel any of his cousins. Albus got up and walked towards the ring. Kaden was already there when he arrived. Albus and Kaden bowed to each other and then raised their wands. "Begin," Balladanis said. "Expelliarmus!" Albus shouted and pointed his wand at Kaden while silently apologizing to him. He really didn't want to duel Kaden. Kaden's wand flew from his hand and Albus caught it. Albus looked up at Balladanis. Balladanis was looking at Albus with his piercing stare and Albus quickly looked away. "Point to Potter," Balladanis said without taking his eyes off Albus. Albus handed Kaden back his wand and went back to his team's table. Lynley and Amanda congratulated him and he sat back down. "I can't believe they had you duel Kaden," Amanda giggled. Albus shrugged. It hadn't been much of a fight. Albus rarely had trouble dueling anyone during the tournaments. The only person who Albus ever had difficulty dueling was Malfoy, and he was on Albus's team. Albus wasn't really thinking much about having to duel Kaden. He couldn't get the look Balladanis had given him out of his mind. It was sort of like the looks he'd received in class, only more intimidating. There was a hint of curiosity mixed in with something Albus couldn't describe. It was almost like he was trying to read Albus's mind, but Albus had had enough experience with that to know that Balladanis wasn't doing it. Malfoy was up next and he dueled James. It was a very fast-paced and exciting duel. In the end, Malfoy managed to disarm James. Albus had no idea how he felt about this. Part of him was happy that his team got the point, but on the other hand, the thought of his brother losing to Malfoy was rather unsettling. James had a mutinous look on his face as he grabbed his wand out of Malfoy's outstretched hand. He stormed back to his table without a second glance at Malfoy or Balladanis. Albus looked back to Balladanis and saw him giving Malfoy the same odd look he had given Albus earlier. Albus had no idea what to make of that. Balldanis hadn't looked at anyone else like that. The next person Albus dueled was a bit more challenging, but Albus still disarmed her within three minutes. She was a fourth year Ravenclaw who had the reputation of being the smartest of all the fourth years. Balladanis gave Albus the same strange look as he awarded him the point. Albus quickly gave the girl back her wand and went back to his table. Albus's team narrowly won the tournament. Lynley congratulated everyone and said the entire team had improved greatly since the last tournament. Albus and Amanda got up and joined the throngs of people leaving the room. They headed up to the common room, where they had agreed to meet their friends after the tournament. "Good job," John said as he sat down next to Albus. "Thanks," Albus smiled. "Yeah," Kaden agreed, "I mean, you beat me pretty quickly." "Albus is the best dueler out of all of us," Matt said as he joined them. "Balladanis was certainly interested," John said, "What was up with him looking at you like that?" "I dunno," Albus said, "It was really odd." "He was looking at Malfoy like that, too," Rose said as she and Linda sat down. "I'll bet it's because you're both such good duelers," Matt replied, "I hate to admit it, but Malfoy is really good." "Did you see James's face after Malfoy beat him?" John laughed, "That was pretty funny." "I don't think James would agree with you," Albus smirked. "Well, we should probably do some homework," Rose said. Everyone groaned but nobody disagreed. Albus went up to his dormitory and returned with his books. He cracked open his Herbology book and started an essay that was due on Tuesday. "You're from Australia, aren't you?" Albus's head snapped up. Linda was staring curiously at Matt, whose eyes were darting about. Everyone else was now staring at Linda. Albus didn't think he had ever heard her talk outside of class. "Er, why do you think that?" Matt asked nervously. "The other day after Defense, you mentioned that your dad hadn't seen an anamatek even though he worked down there," Linda explained. "Oh, yeah," Matt muttered, "I did used to live there." "Why did you move?" Linda asked. "My dad's job," Matt said. "Oh," Linda replied, "Well, if you hadn't, we could have gone to school together." Matt mumbled something under his breath. "What?" Linda asked. "Nothing," Matt said and closed his book, "I'm, er, going to the library." Albus closed his own book and got up to follow Matt, but he had already left. Albus sighed and looked at Rose, who was slowly shaking her head. That was exactly why Matt had wanted to stay away from Linda and Albus couldn't blame him. The rest of the afternoon was spent in silence in the common room. Albus managed to finish his Herbology essay just before dinner. He had no idea if Matt actually went to the library, but found him in the Great Hall at dinner. He made no mention of what Linda had said, so Albus didn't bring it up. Albus only had enough time to eat a quick dinner anyway, because he had Quidditch practice afterwards. ****** "All right, that's enough for today," Balladanis announced as the bell rang the following Tuesday, "Leave your essays on my desk on your way out." Albus stowed his wand in his robes and rummaged around in his bag for his essay. For some reason, Balladanis always collected essays at the end of class. Albus had no idea why. All the other teachers collected them at the beginning, presumably to prevent students from frantically scribbling their essay during class the day it was due. That would be impossible in Balladanis's class, though. "Potter, Malfoy!" Balldanis shouted, "Please see me before you leave." "Looks like you're getting extra help, too," John laughed, "Welcome to the club." "Somehow I doubt that," Matt replied, "Albus was the only one to cause that anamatek to fly halfway across the room today. Well, besides Malfoy." Albus shrugged and muttered that he'd meet them in Herbology. His heart started beating a bit faster as he placed his essay on the pile and stood in front of Balladanis's desk. Why did he want to see him anyway? Could Balladanis really think he needed extra help? Malfoy tossed his essay onto the pile and then leaned up on Balladanis's desk as he watched the rest of the class leave. "Stand up, Malfoy," Balladanis said as he shut the anamatek's trunk and walked over to his desk. Malfoy jumped and quickly stood up straight. Albus stifled a laugh and turned to Balladanis, whose face was expressionless. Balladanis walked over to the door, shut it, and returned to his desk. "I couldn't help but notice that both of you won both of your duels last Saturday." "I always win both of my duels," Malfoy said pompously. "I thought so," Balladanis replied, ignoring Malfoy's less than respectful tone, "I'm assuming the same goes for you, Mr. Potter?" "Yes, sir," Albus nodded. "Have either of you ever been defeated in a duel before?" "I've disarmed Potter during practice," Malfoy smirked. "And I've disarmed you, Malfoy," Albus rolled his eyes. "Any other times?" Balladanis asked. Albus opened his mouth, but Balladanis interrupted him. "During the dueling tournaments, Mr. Potter. I have heard about your altercation with Jameson Washburn, Jarret Willinson, and his son." "No other times," Albus replied. "I could have defeated Washburn," Malfoy announced. "I sincerely doubt that," Balladanis said, much to Albus's delight, "But that is not what I have asked to discuss with you. I have noticed, both in class and during dueling tournaments, that the two of you seem to possess exceptional skill when it comes to dueling. You're dueling skill appears to be much higher than the third or even fourth year level. "Therefore, I would like to train both of you privately. There is only so much you can learn in a large group with those whose skill is less than your own. I will be able to teach you spells you wouldn't normally learn until fourth or fifth year. Are either of you interested?" "Of course," Malfoy said immediately. Albus couldn't believe it. His family and friends always told him he was an excellent dueler, but somehow having Balladanis tell him meant more. Balladanis was incredibly hard to please, and not only did he think Albus was a great dueler, he was offering to teach him more advanced spells. That was incredibly exciting. Albus would be able to learn spells that James hadn't learned yet. "Yes, I'd like that," Albus grinned, thinking it would be brilliant to beat James in a duel. "I shall see you on Friday at eight, then," Balladanis told them, "After I am done tutoring the less skillful in your class." He pulled out two pieces of paper and scribbled onto both of them. "Give these to your teachers, as you are quite late to class by now. Get out of here." Albus took his note and left the room feeling that Friday was an incredibly long time away. Private dueling lessons. He couldn't wait. Sure, they'd be with Malfoy, but Albus was willing to put up with him in order to learn advanced spells. Albus hurried to Herbology, but the class was already well into that day's lesson by the time he arrived. He handed his note to Neville and then sat down next to Matt, who was shoveling dirt into an empty pot. "What did Balladanis want?" Matt asked. "You're never going to believe this," Albus said as he pulled on his gloves, "Balladanis wants to give Malfoy and me private dueling lessons. He wants to teach us advanced spells that we wouldn't normally learn until fourth or fifth year." "You're kidding," Matt said in awe. "Nope," Albus grinned. "But why?" Matt asked, "Did he say why he's teaching you?" "Just because he thinks we're good duelers, I guess." "Well, you are a good dueler, Albus," Matt agreed, "When do you start?" "Friday at eight. Right after your help session, actually," Albus answered. "I'm not going to the help session this week," Matt lowered his voice, "And you'll be having loads more fun than me." "Oh, right," Albus whispered, remembering that the full moon was Friday night, "I'll let you know how it goes, though." After Herbology was over, Albus told John, Rose, and Amanda about Balladanis's dueling lessons and then had to repeat it to Kaden when they ate lunch. All of them were excited about it, especially Kaden. Albus suspected he was a bit jealous, too. The remainder of the week seemed to creep by at a flobberworm's pace. It wasn't like Albus didn't have anything to keep him busy, but he just couldn't think about anything other than the dueling lesson. "Albus, you've got to stop tapping your quill," Rose said shortly, "It's driving me mad." Albus and his friends were in the Marauder's Den. It was Friday evening and dinner had just ended. Albus was trying to concentrate on homework, but it wasn't working. Rose and Amanda were both reading. Linda had mysteriously disappeared after her last class and Rose and Amanda had been with Albus and the other boys ever since. John and Kaden were discussing a prank that involved charming gobstones to follow the Aurors and prefects around as they patrolled the corridors. Rose had already advised against this, but John and Kaden didn't listen. Matt was laying on the couch with his eyes closed, but he wasn't asleep. John and Kaden kept asking him things and he'd respond with very short answers. "Sorry," Albus muttered and dropped his quill. "So where's Linda tonight?" John asked. "I dunno," Rose shrugged, "She didn't look that great today, though." "Then she's probably sucking some animal's blood in the forest," Matt announced. "Well, there's a lovely picture," Kaden said loudly, "Linda biting the neck of some helpless animal and sucking the life out of it. Think of all the blood. It must get all over her face and neck. That's pretty gross." "Thanks for that image, Kaden," Matt replied. "It's better than her sucking human blood," Rose pointed out. "That's true," Kaden agreed, "So, should we fill the gobstones with stink sap before we charm them?" "Of course!" John grinned. "And that's my cue to leave," Matt sat up slowly and rubbed his head, "I'll see you lot tomorrow, probably." "Yeah, we'll see you in the morning," Albus assured him. "Have fun," Kaden said. "Fun," Matt muttered on his way out, "That's a word I've never used to describe it." "We'd better go, too," Amanda said. "Yeah, time to go sit through an extra Defense lesson," John groaned as he stood up. "I thought you didn't mind them," Rose said. "I don't. They just get old after a while," John sighed as he and Amanda left. Albus worked on his homework for the next hour, mainly because there wasn't anything else to do. Rose was working on her own homework and didn't seem to want to do anything else. The hour dragged by at an incredibly slow rate, but eventually Albus packed up his books, said goodbye to Rose, and left for Balladanis's room. The door was half-way open when Albus arrived. He took a deep breath, suddenly overcome by nerves, and knocked lightly. There was no answer. Albus pushed the door open and walked very slowly inside. The room was dim. The only light stemmed from a few torches lit on the walls. It was obviously the same classroom he had Defense class in, but it looked completely different in the evening. There wasn't anyone left in the room from the extra Defense lesson earlier. Albus had passed John and Amanda in the corridor. They both wished him good luck. Albus looked around the room and saw the trunk that contained the anamatek sitting unnaturally still in front of Balladanis's desk. Balladanis himself was also sitting unnaturally still at his desk. He stared directly into Albus's eyes and Albus, remembering the Occlumency lessons he received two years prior, quickly averted his own eyes and began to close his mind. "You know Occlumency, Mr. Potter," Balladanis said not as a question, but as a statement. Albus nodded as Balladanis slowly rose from his chair and walked around to the front of his desk. Albus took a step back and nearly collided with the front table. He swallowed nervously and kept his eyes off of Balladanis. Albus had always been a little wary of Balladanis, but now he had to admit that he was a bit scared. The only way for Balladanis to know that Albus had been practicing Occlumency was if he had actually been performing Legilimency. Albus had enough experience with teachers performing Legilimency on him and he didn't want to do go through that again. The only thing Albus was thinking about then was how he could leave the room without Balladanis getting suspicious. He wished he had a Puking Pastille or something in his pocket. "Who taught you?" Balladanis asked. "My Aunt Hermione," Albus muttered. He wondered where Malfoy was. That had to be the first and probably only time he would ever wish Malfoy to be present. "Hermione Weasley," Balladanis mused, "Yes, she is one of the most accomplished Occlumenses of her generation." Albus's head snapped towards the door as he heard footsteps enter the room. He breathed a sigh of relief and had to stifle a laugh at the fact that he was happy Malfoy was in the room. "Mr. Malfoy, you're late," Balladanis said. "Sorry, sir," Malfoy muttered. "Sit down," Balladanis pointed to the front table. Albus turned around and sat as quickly as he could in one of the chairs. Malfoy took his time in sauntering over and sat in the chair next to him. "Mr. Potter. Mr. Malfoy," Balladanis began to pace in front of them, "By now I am sure you are both aware of my stance on the Dark Arts. If not, I suggest paying a bit more attention in class. "You may also be aware of my devotion to helping the students who are struggling in my classes. I hold extra help sessions every single day after dinner. However, I also wish to help those who are truly talented to reach their true potential. "You two are the most talented duelers in the third year," Balladanis paused and looked at each of them in the eye, "I would argue that you are the most talented duelers amongst the students below fifth year. I would even wager that you could give a couple of the sixth years a run for their Galleons." Albus stared at Balladanis. He didn't think he was that good of a dueler. He knew he could beat most of the students in the Junior's Dueling Club, but sixth years? They were doing N.E.W.T. Defense classes. They knew spells Albus had never even heard of. "I wouldn't go picking fights with sixth years, though," Balladanis continued, "They know spells you do not. What I mean is that you have the talent to learn spells that the sixth years are learning. The spells I am currently teaching in class are incredibly simple for the two of you. What I hope to do is teach you spells that are more at your level. Now, stand up, the both of you. Let's see what you can do." Albus stood up and pulled out his wand. He had no idea what Balladanis wanted him to do. Would they be practicing on the anamatek? Balladanis waved his wand and the desks moved to the sides of the classroom. Another wave and the light increased. "I would like you to duel each other. Use any spell that you have learned in school. Do not use any spells you have picked up elsewhere. Madam Pomfrey would not be happy with me if I sent the two of you to the Hospital Wing with missing limbs. Keep going until I say to stop." Albus couldn't believe it. He was getting to duel Malfoy! He had been wanting to do that ever since Kendrick had first announced the dueling club. The little practice duels they did weren't really what he had wanted to do, though. Albus raised his wand and stared at Malfoy. Malfoy was smirking and pointing his wand at Albus. The two of them bowed and Albus took a step forward. "Petrificus Totalus!" Albus shouted and pointed his wand at Malfoy. Malfoy easily dodged the spell and sent a tickling hex at Albus. Albus threw up a shield and then tried to disarm Malfoy. Malfoy jumped onto a nearby desk and the spell collided with a chair which collapsed. The duel continued in this matter for quite some time. Albus tried as hard as he could to actually hit Malfoy with a spell, but Malfoy kept dodging and blocking them. It was driving Albus mad. He kept thinking of everything Malfoy had done to him in the past two years and how much he wanted to beat him in this duel. If he beat Malfoy, he'd have something on him for the rest of the year. "Expelliarmus!" Albus shouted for what must have been the tenth time. Malfoy dodged it and sent the same spell at Albus. Albus jumped and the spell hit Balladanis's desk. "That's enough!" Balladanis shouted. Albus lowered his wand and glared at Malfoy. Albus shoved his wand back in his robes and looked around to find a chair that remained intact. He found one and collapsed into it. That duel had been exhausting. "Well, that was certainly interesting," Balladanis gave a rare smile, "Not a scratch on either of you but my classroom has been destroyed. It seems that I was not premature in my judgment of your dueling skills. "Have either of you thought about what you want to do when you get out of Hogwarts?" Albus stared curiously at Balladanis. That was an abrupt change in conversation. Albus had never thought about life beyond Hogwarts. He was only thirteen. He never thought there was any need to think about it yet. "Er," Albus began, "Not really. I mean, I always thought being an Auror would be interesting." "Indeed it would," Balladanis said, "Your father certainly is happy with it. How about you, Mr. Malfoy?" "No idea," Malfoy replied. "There are many things you can do with dueling skills such as yours. I would suggest looking into it," Balladanis said. "But sir, we're only third years," Malfoy scoffed, "Isn't it a bit early?" "I already knew what I wanted to do at thirteen," Balladanis said quietly. "And what is that exactly?" Malfoy asked. Balladanis gave Malfoy the strangest look Albus had ever seen. It was a combination of sadness, anger, and pride. "I do not wish to discuss that," Balladanis said, "Perhaps you will find out someday. For now, I think it best we call it a night. If you wish to learn advanced spells, return at this time next week and we will begin." "I'll be here, sir," Malfoy said as he walked out the door. "Thanks, Professor," Albus said as he followed. "Mr. Potter," Balladanis said, "Please tell Mr. Eckerton that it will not do for him to skip his extra help sessions." "But sir," Albus looked at him incredulously, "You know what tonight is. He couldn't possibly have gone." "The moon didn't rise until after the session was over. I do not take excuses." Albus sighed to himself as he left. Balladanis had been teaching him for over two months and he still surprised Albus all the time. Albus had seen a different side of him that night. He did truly hate the Dark Arts, that was something Albus did not doubt. But he had also performed Legilimency on him. Albus didn't think he could ever trust a teacher that did that. Not after his experience with Washburn.
salemboy Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 1836 Location: Behind you!	Posted: Wednesday 23 December 2009 08 16 06 am    Post subject: Re: The Shadow in topic:The Shadow [I would like to make an amendment to my last post, my character isn't wearing a jacket, and is wearing a t-shirt. The girl is not wearing a poncho but is wearing his jacket.] "We'd better get moving," Hakan turned to Yuki. The rain was still pouring down over them, soaking Hakan to the bone. He was stuck in close to her, trying to keep himself warm. She was lying next to him, her soaked head resting on his shoulder. The fact that her hair was dripping down his back didn't help. Sighing, Yuki responded, "You sure we have to leave?" "Yeah." Groaning, Yuki stood up as another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, turning her into a silhouette against the bright background. Reaching out her hand, she helped Hakan to his feet. "Thanks," he mumbled. "No problem," was her reply. She locked her arm with his as they made their way down the hill from the tree. The field around them was soaked to the ground, the normally high-rising grass laid flat on the mud. The rushing water made it difficult for the two to keep their step, depending on eachother to stay balanced. Reaching the base of the hill, the two began running as another bolt of lightning flashed, followed by a great roll of thunder. The paths of the former battlefield had been so well-worn that even in the dark of night, it was easy to find their way. Their feet sank into the mud as they plodded along towards the paved roads of the battlefield. Parked on the side of the road was their jeep. A four-seater with various maps and instruments strewn about the dashboard, along with several empty cans of Coca-Cola lying around on the ground. Lying across the seat in the back was a shotgun with shell cases kept underneath the leather cushions. Opening the driver's door, Hakan slid into his seat, listening to his wet clothing making a squishing sound on the leather seats. Slamming the door shut, he waited for Yuki to get in before starting the jeep. The rain pounded on the roof overhead as Hakan pulled the car away from the roadside. Yuki began rustling through the maps, looking over them while marking certain points with a pen. "We need to go to the Appalachians," she said to him as they drove along the road towards fork in the road. Lightning flashed across the sky once again. "The Appalachians it-" "Go left!" Yuki shot out. Instantly complying, Hakan jerked the steering wheel to the left, taking the left fork. Trees blocked the other road from view as they drove along. "Turn out the lights," Yuki instructed. Hakan did as he was told. Not even a split-second after he did so, the lights from a truck came into view behind them as it passed the fork to where they had just been. "Was it them?" Hakan queried, momentarily looking at Yuki before returning his eyes to the road. It was nearly impossible to see. "Yes," was Yuki's answer as she looked back. The lights had passed, but it had been a close call. She returned to a normal position in her seat and rested her head on Hakan's shoulder. "You can turn the lights back on." Nodding, Hakan turned the car lights back on. Not the brights, just the normal lights. He drove along the road, navigating the way through the battlefield to the exit gate. Looking at the clock, he realized just how late it, and how tired he, was. 0300. He'd have to find some sleep soon. Yuki was already breathing heavily on his neck, asleep. They reached the gate to the battlefield. It was closed. "Wonderful," Hakan muttered. "Of course it's closed." Swearing under his breath, he gently pushed Yuki to the other side of the jeep and got out into the freezing rain. Shivering, he ran over to the gate, which was held in place by a padlock. Swearing again, Hakan ran back over to the jeep, and opened the back door. Next to the shells underneath the seat was a toolbox. Opening it, he pulled out a hammer. Slamming the door shut again, Hakan ran back to the gate. Patting the hammer in his hand, he tried to see the best place to slam down the head. Then he saw it. Not the actualy padlock, but the thin metal ring screwed into the pavement that the padlock held the gate to. Raising the hammer high above his head, Hakan took aim, at the ring, before slamming the hammer down. The thin ring snapped instantly, releasing the padlock and, consequently, the gate. Pushing against the metal bar, Hakan opened the gate all the way before returning to the jeep, opening his door, getting in, and throwing the hammer in the back. "Nice job," Yuki said, startling him. Hakan hadn't noticed that she'd awoken, and now she was staring at him. Nodding, Hakan motioned towards the road. "I think I remember there being a suburb out just past the gate. We'll stay there for a few hours before we set off again." "Whatever you say," Yuki smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder again. [Sorry, not enough time to make an full-quality post.]
Ms. Elsewhere Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 886 Location: In role play game of course!	Posted: Tuesday 15 December 2009 11 06 55 pm    Post subject: Re: The Shadow in topic:The Shadow Jonathan Deis woke up with a start and looked at the clock on his bedside table. 630am. He groaned. He didn't have to get up for hours. He was so tired of waking up at the same time every morning. But this time, it wasn't just his mind that was knocking him out of his dreams. He noticed someone standing at the door. "Happy Birthday son." a tall, grey haired but very fit looking man in a business suit and tie said to him from his bedroom door. Jon sat up. His father was holding two packages. "Hey dad. Thanks." he said with a croak. He had not used his voice yet and the room was so dry. He dad entered the room. "I come bearing gifts!" he said jokingly. His father didn't joke usually, but it was nice that he was trying. He layed one on Jon's lap. "This one first." he said quietly. Jon opened it obidently. It was a long box, and inside it was a long, black jacket that buttoned to the neck, and probably hung right to the floor. Jon smiled. "it's perfect. I like this sort of thing. Oh ya, it's Guess too. Cool." Jon was a big fan of designer clothing. "And now.. this one." he said, and handed the other package to him. Jon opened it too, a smaller box, and heavier. "It's from your mom. She.. wanted you to have it on your 16th birthday." Jon paused when he heard this, looking at his father. His dad did not take his eyes off the box. Jon continued to open the box, and within it were assortments of keepsakes. A ring, diamond and ruby and safire; some shells, a little tube of perfume, a few oregami swans and other treasures. A little card was inside, addressed to 'my son, Jonathan'. Jon lifted it up, and opened it up. He read it. "What did she say?" his father asked Jon. Jon paused for a moment. He felt his eyes welling up, and then he said. "It says; these are for you, my dearest. Always remember me." Jon closed the box with the card inside. He looked up at his father. "I think I'll get dressed. Are you going to work?" His father searched Jon's face for a long moment. "your mother did love you very much. I'm sorry you couldnt' know her. I'll leave now, and see you tonight for your birthday party." he leaned in and kissed his son on the head. "have a good day at school." And he left the room. Jon waited until he was sure his father was gone, then he fumbled and opened the box again. He pulled out the card and stared at it. It didn't say what he had told his father, it said; "Keep what you have a secret, or he will destroy you." Jon's breathing was fast, and the bedside table started to shake. "No." he said to it, and it stopped. He kept breathing heavily, frightened, and reached out to the bathroom. The taps within turned and steam from the hot water in the shower billowed out the door. He brought his hand down and sighed. "Right." his mother was speaking of his father, a general for the organisation called THE LIGHT. And sure as he was 16 today, he would be killed if his father knew that his bloodline now had super human dirt in it. Jon realised that his mother was probably super human too, but he hoped that her death was a tragic accident. He hoped with all his heart. He jumped out of bed, hid the box, and got ready for school.
FortisUmbra Joined: 18 August 2009 Posts: 243	Posted: Monday 7 December 2009 03 10 11 pm    Post subject: Re: The Shadow in topic:The Shadow Mathew was sitting on a park bench under a tree. The rain had started as drizzle but was now coming down hard. He was glad that he had brought the thick black trench coat witch he was presently wearing. He looked around waiting. He was hoping that the man he was waiting for would arrive soon; to be honest he just hoped that he would arrive. This was Mathew’s first real assignment and he didn’t want to mess it up. He had just recently come to work for the shadow. He had been so excited that he had joined right after graduating high school. He missed the other planet, it rained less there. He could also use his powers whenever he wanted; here it attracted a lot of negative attention if not used tactfully. The negative attention had gotten a lot worse after Ursa Major had started going around killing all those innocent people. Mathew wasn’t too fond of the normal people but he didn’t think they deserved to die. Mathew suddenly stood up. He saw a small women walking across the park. He could barely make her out in the dense rain but he had a good feeling that it was his assignment. She would be very dangerous if Ursa Major found out about her but he was sure they didn’t know. From what he understood they still didn’t have a clairvoyant and that was good because the Shadow had five. As she approached Mathew stepped forward. He said in a quite slightly conspiratorial voice “So have you thought about my offer?” “Yes,” she said her face hidden by the hood of her rain jacket. “I think I’ll take your offer. I have been being followed closely for the last four days by the light and I’m quite frightened.” “That’s a very good decision.” He smiled to himself. This was easy. He held up his hand to his left and an elliptical bright blue ring appeared to his left. The ring was about the same height as he was and about half a foot wider on each side. In the middle of the ring was the image of a bright room. All that could be seen of the room was the fire place but it looked warm and inviting. A man was standing there and turned suddenly. “Oh good.” He said smiling broadly. He reached his hand out through the portal. The woman accepted it and walked through the portal herself followed closely by Mathew. This job is great Mathew thought to himself, but he had not heard the stories of the other agents. The horrible things they had witnessed. Mathew had also not been told what the clairvoyants where predicting. Something so terrible that it would have Mathew considering opening a portal and going straight back home.
FawkesthePhoenix Joined: 31 December 2006 Posts: 3553 Location: No idea, all I know is that there are a LOT of felt-tipped pens...	Posted: Tuesday 17 November 2009 07 46 03 pm    Post subject: Re: RPG: The Six Wizards in topic:RPG: The Six Wizards Yuta's eyes blinked open, and she groaned. Something was digging into her hip, and her cheek throbbed with pain. She pulled her head up slowly, realizing that she had fallen asleep against the counter with her head slumped onto her empty tea mug. There was probably a tea ring on her face. The house seemed quiet as she glanced around. She walked slowly back into her room to shower and change, cursing herself for letting her mind wander.
FawkesthePhoenix Joined: 31 December 2006 Posts: 3553 Location: No idea, all I know is that there are a LOT of felt-tipped pens...	Posted: Wednesday 2 September 2009 12 16 04 pm    Post subject: Re: RPG: Founding Fathers in topic:RPG: Founding Fathers Screams began to ring out through the night, and both Rowena and Marpessa jumped. Marpessa turned to Rowena for instruction, who said immediately, "Find out what's going on. I'm off to get Professor Gryffindor." Marpessa nodded and ran in the direction of the screams. They came from the Girl's Dormitories, where Professor Hufflepuff was sitting with a heavily cursed girl leaning against her. "Professor Ravenclaw's gone to get Professor Gryffindor. What happened?" Marpessa asked, kneeling next to the teacher.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2538 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Monday 26 January 2009 11 08 53 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks Obladi and hprocks! This story is filled with nasty characters... Chapter 31: Kidnapped Mum and Dad seemed to get more antsy as the next full moon drew closer. Dad became quiet and spent a lot of time just sitting and staring off into space. Mum did that as well, except for the quiet part. She yelled at me for the simplest things, such as forgetting to put my dishes in the sink. It reminded me of how she had been earlier in the year. It was kind of strange that both of my parents were acting nervous again when they had been excited about moving just a few days ago. I assumed it had something to do with Lubar and how he kept showing up every full moon. I still had no idea what he had done after the previous one. Neither of my parents mentioned him after I went home and I was reluctant to ask them. I did however think Ellie might have known. "Hey, Ellie," I sat down at the counter as she was doing the dishes. "Hi Amy," Ellie looked up, "How is you?" "All right," I sighed, "What about you?" "Ellie is good." "I've got a question for you," I said. Ellie put down the dish she was holding and looked at me. "What is it?" "Remember that git, Lubar?" I asked. "Of course," Ellie said darkly, "Ellie is not liking him." "Neither do I. Did he come here the morning after the last full moon?" "He did," Ellie told me. Just as I thought. "What happened?" What did he do?" "He is asking Master for a fine. And Master is giving it to him. Then Master yelled at him and made him leave," Ellie replied. Another fine. Well, that wasn't too bad. "Did he say anything important?" "He is telling Master that Master should reconsider his choices and that next month will be different." I swallowed hard. He was threatening Dad. He had a lot of power, too. He could do anything. The thought of it made me sick. What was he going to do? "Thanks, Ellie," I said quietly. I got up from the stool and went up to my room. A few hours later, Dad knocked on my door and told me it was time to go to Richard and Cinda's. I nodded and grabbed my bag. The two of us Apparated to the bush near their house and walked silently up their driveway. Cinda was standing in the doorway when we got there. She and Mum were still fighting. I had never seen them fight for this long before. I was beginning to wonder if they'd ever make up. "Cinda," Dad said quietly. "Walter," Cinda replied, "Julie did not want to come?" "She's at home with Matt. She's been taking care of him all morning and he didn't want her to leave," Dad answered. "Hmph," Cinda muttered. "I'll be back in a few days, Amy," Dad said, "Have fun." "Like always," I rolled my eyes, "Bye." Dad nodded to Cinda and then turned around and walked down the driveway. Cinda watched him go and I ran up to my bedroom. I dropped my bag and grabbed the phone. I hadn't seen Kenzie in two months and she picked up on the first ring. The only good thing about this full moon was that it was on a Saturday, so Kenzie was home. She came over to my grandparents house ten minutes after I called her. "England?!" she shouted as soon as I opened the door. "Yes, England," I groaned and she walked inside. "Cheerio, then!" Kenzie replied in a fake British accent. "That was awful," I laughed. "Better get used to it. That's what you'll be hearing from now on. Hell, maybe you'll get a British accent, too!" "I doubt that," I replied flatly, "So, can you sleep over?" "No," Kenzie sighed, "I'm going to my grandparents' house tomorrow at seven in the morning." I raised my eyebrow. "Your family? Seven in the morning?" "I know, right? Totally not going to happen, but my parents seem to think it'll work if we try hard. Anyway, so they don't want me to sleep over here." "Well, stay as late as you can," I said. "I will," Kenzie said, "Oh, before I forget, my mum wanted me to ask if your family can come over to our house for dinner before you move. Do you think the 15th will work?" "It should," I said, "I'll call you if it doesn't. What time?" "Five," Kenzie answered. Kenzie stayed until her mum called at ten o'clock, demanding that she come home and get some sleep. I watched her go until I couldn't see her anymore. I slowly returned to the house and went back up to my room. My grandparents were sitting in the living room, but I didn't want to sit with them. Now that Kenzie was gone, I started worrying about what Lubar was going to do again. I stayed up half the night worrying about it. I figured if Dad was worried about it, there was definitely something to worry about. Dad spent nearly two years in charge of that department and he knew what Lubar would be capable of doing. Something was going to happen. But what? Lubar did not elaborate in his threat, which kind of made it worse. I had no idea what to expect. The worst part was, was that I wasn't even home. Something could be happening right at that very moment and I'd have no idea. It was bad enough to not be home during regular full moons, but ones where Lubar had threatened my family? It was driving me mad. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing I knew I jerked awake. I sat up in bed, my heart hammering. There had been a loud crack downstairs. It sounded like one of those Muggle wands they use to kill each other. Or someone Apparating. I crept out of bed and strained my ears. Why would someone be Apparating into Richard and Cinda's house? Were they some kind of wizard burglar who robbed Muggles? Or could it be Lubar? Did he somehow find out where Richard and Cinda lived? I shakily grabbed my wand and quietly opened the door. "Lumos," I muttered and stepped out into the corridor. I could vaguely make out footsteps downstairs. This was insane. Who was down there? I was the only magical person in the house. If this person was someone who wanted to harm us, it would be up to me to save my grandparents. But I didn't know enough spells. We would all be killed. Richard and Cinda were still sleeping. They had always been deep sleepers. Richard was still snoring. I ran as quietly as I could to their room and pushed open the door. "Richard!" I prodded him with my wand, "Cinda! Wake up!" Richard groaned and rolled over. He squinted at my wand light. "Amy? What's going on?" "Someone Apparated into the house! I heard it! And now they're walking around downstairs! We've got to get out of here. I don't know enough spells to hold them off!" "Wait, wait," Richard held up his hand, "What?" "A witch or wizard has Apparated into the house," I said slowly, "They're downstairs. We need to get out!" "Amy," Richard sighed, "I'm sure there's a more likely explanation for this. Why on earth would a witch or wizard Apparate into our house?" "How should I know?" I asked, "But I'm serious! That's what the noise was!" "You were probably dreaming." "No, I wasn't!" I seethed, "Listen!" Richard and I were quiet for a minute and I heard the footsteps coming closer. The person was coming up the stairs. My heart was pounding out of my chest and my breathing came quick. "What's that, then?" I asked. "Er," Richard began. I jumped as the door creaked open and a shadowy figure appeared in the doorway. I pointed my wand at them and shouted the first spell that came to mind. "Petrificus Totalus!" The figure jumped aside and my spell hit the half open door. It caught fire and the shadowy stranger put it out with a jet of water from his own wand. "Amy?" they asked. I recognized that voice. It was Mum. What was she doing here? What was going on? "Julie?" Richard asked and turned on the light. Cinda rolled over and pulled up her eye mask. She startled and sat up, staring curiously from Mum to me to Richard. "Julie?" Cinda asked. "Mum?" I asked, "What are you doing here?" "Julie, why did you Apparate into our house in the dead of night? Amy thought you were someone who was going to kill us!" Richard exclaimed. I looked at Mum closely. Her hair face was white and tear stained and her eyes had purple bags under them. She looked more scared and upset than I'd seen her in ages. In fact, I hadn't seen her looking like that since the days following the night Matt got bitten. This was bad. "Mum, what's going on?" I asked, trying not to cry myself. "Go get your stuff, Amy. I'm taking you home," Mum whispered. I stared at her curiously. Why would she let me go home now? The full moon was out. "What's going on, Julie?" Richard asked, "You never let her stay home during full moons and now you're taking her home while the full moon's out?" "Amy, get your stuff," Mum repeated. I didn't bother asking her again what was going on. She seemed too shaken up to answer anyway. I left her standing in the doorway with Richard and Cinda staring at her and went back to my room. I haphazardly threw all my stuff into my bag and ran back to my grandparents' bedroom. I was really worried now. This was so unlike Mum. She had never, ever come over to Richard and Cinda's in the middle of the night on a full moon. Tears were rolling down Mum's face when I returned. Richard and Cinda were still trying to get her to explain what was going on, but it wasn't working. "Jule, you've got to tell us what's going on," Richard said quietly, "Come sit down." "N-no," Mum replied, "We've g-got to go h-home." "Mum," I said as I walked through the door, "Can you please tell me what's wrong?" "When we g-get home," Mum said, "We have to get b-back. Your d-dad might n-need to contact me." I looked at her curiously again. What did she mean? Wasn't Dad at home? I hated this. I hated not knowing what was going on. I missed something big again. And this time it was something bad. I was afraid this would happen. Something was wrong. I squeezed my eyes and tears started coming out. It was no use. I had to cry. "Call us soon, Julie," Richard sighed, realizing that he wasn't going to get Mum to elaborate any further. Mum nodded and motioned for me to Apparate with her. I muttered goodbyes to my grandparents and with a loud crack, the world disappeared. The house was ominously quiet when we appeared in the kitchen. I wasn't sure what to expect. I couldn't remember if Dad soundproofed just the safe room or the entire house. I dropped my bag on the floor and waited for Mum to explain. She glanced at me and then sat down at the counter, burying her head in her arms. I looked around, wondering where Dad was, and then sat down next to her. We sat there for a few minutes; her crying into her arms and me with my tears silently running down my face and onto the counter. "Mum," I said after a while, "Can you tell me what's going on? Where's Dad?" Mum picked up her head, but didn't look at me. Instead she stared directly in front of her, towards the deck doors. "Earlier tonight," she whispered, "Before the moon rose, Lubar flooed here. He wanted to know if Dad had built a shed for Matt to transform in. Remember that law?" I nodded. How could I forget it? "Well, they passed another one," Mum's voice cracked, "Werewolf Control Unit employees can now force werewolves to transform in the Ministry approved safe houses." A new wave of tears came over her and she paused for a few moments. Force them? I had a feeling I knew where this was going and I didn't like it one bit. I felt nauseated and I really hoped I was wrong. "Lubar shoved the new law in Dad's face and then grabbed Matt, who was sleeping on the couch. Dad grabbed his wand, but it was too late. Lubar had already Disapparated, with Matt," Mum said quietly. "Dad didn't know where the safe houses were or which one Lubar would take Matt to, and by the time he found it, the moon had already risen." Mum collapsed into her arms once again and I stared at the window until my vision became blurry. It was what I thought. Matt was at one of those 'safe houses' right now. I rubbed my eyes and put my arm around Mum. "Where's Dad now?" I asked quietly. "At the s-safe house," Mum whispered, "He's staying th-there until m-morning." I had no idea how long we sat there crying in each other's arms. Mum didn't have to tell me what this meant. I knew enough about werewolves to know what could possibly happen. Matt was surely going to be the smallest werewolf in the safe house. He'd be the runt. The larger wolves would gang up on him. I didn't want to think about what they would possibly do. There was a reason Dad didn't want Matt transforming with a bunch of adults. Even though he hurt himself every full moon in our basement, he was safer there than in with a bunch of wolves twice his size. Neither of us slept at all that night. Eventually, we got up from the stools in the kitchen and wandered into the living room. Mum sat down on the couch and stared into space for the rest of the night. She hardly moved at all. I paced around the room over and over again, trying not to think about what was happening to my brother. I felt worse than ever that I yelled at him the previous month when Olivia's parents wouldn't let her come stay at my house. That really wasn't his fault. It was Olivia's parents fault. I never even really apologized to him. Why had I been so stubborn? Now, I might not even get to apologize... No. I shook my head to get the thought out. I didn't want to think that way. Matt would be fine. He always survived the full moons. No mater how hard they were, he always recovered. But he'd never transformed with other werewolves before. It didn't matter, I told myself. He was resilient. He'd recover. The healers would fix whatever happened. But what if they couldn't? No, don't think that way. They would be able to fix it. They always could. But I didn't even know how bad the full moons usually were. I'd never seen him right after one before. Then there were my parents. I glanced over at Mum, who was still crying silently. If they were worried, there was something to worry about. That had always been my motto. My parents were smart. They knew when something was worrisome. If Matt was going to be fine, Mum wouldn't be falling apart on the couch. Ellie came into the room at some point and was sitting on a chair across from Mum. She looked scared, too. I looked from her to Mum and then walked over to the window. It was starting to get light out. Dad would hopefully be back with Matt soon. I gave up pacing and sat down next to Mum. She was no longer crying and was just staring straight ahead. I guess she just ran out of tears. I heard a loud crack come from the corridor and I jumped. Mum immediately stood up. "Stay here," she whispered. I nodded, unable to argue. Mum left the room and I crept over to the door. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear Mum talking to someone. It was Dad. He was back. "What happened?" Mum asked. "Just what we expected," Dad said darkly, "This is the worst I've ever seen him." "Matt, honey," Mum cried, "What did they do to you?" "I don't think we'll ever find out," Dad replied. "He's got to go to the hospital," Mum said in between sobs. "I know," Dad sighed, "I thought I'd just pop in here before I took him there. Get Amy and meet us there." "Amy's already here. I got her last night," Mum said, "I-I didn't know what was going to happen. I wanted her here." "Ok, good," Dad said, "Meet us at Eastworth." I heard a loud crack and then more crying. I hurried back to the couch so Mum wouldn't know I was listening in. She walked in a few minutes later. "We're going to the hospital," she said quietly, "Come on." I got up from the couch and Mum wrapped me in her arms. We Disapparated with a crack and reappeared moments later in a small room in the hospital. Mum immediately let go of me and hurried out of the room. I followed her and we emerged into the waiting room. It was practically deserted, save for a sleeping man and a woman with a kid who had what appeared to be a fluffy tail affixed to his arse. Dad wasn't anywhere in sight. He must have already taken Matt to the Creature-Induced Injury ward. I followed Mum to the lifts. She completely bypassed the witch sitting at the information desk. We'd been to this hospital so many times that we never bothered to stop by the desk anymore. Mum anxiously hit the lift button and we waited for one to arrive. "Come on," Mum muttered, "Hurry up...." The lift finally arrived and we hurried in. Mum didn't say a word as it slowly made its way up to the third floor. She looked, if it was possible, even more worried than before. Mum practically pulled the doors open herself once the lift stopped. I ran after her and we went down the hall to the nurse's station. My favorite nurse was working that morning. Most of the nurses who worked at the hospital were kind of nervous around Matt, but this one always treated him just like any other kid. Plus, whenever I was there, she'd sneak me ice cream every few hours. "Julie," she greeted us. "Brenda," Mum sighed, "I'm glad you're working today." "They took him to room 306," Brenda said with a sympathetic look. "Thanks," Mum replied quietly, "Can Amy stay here?" "Of course." Mum nodded and then ran down the hall towards room 306. I sighed and leaned on the counter. "How are you, Amy?" Brenda asked, "Come sit down." I walked around the counter and flopped down on one of the spinning chairs. "Not that great." "I hear you're moving." "Yeah, in a month," I groaned. "I can't blame your parents one bit," Brenda commented, "This isn't the best place to be raising a kid like your brother right now." That was for sure. Even I was beginning to understand that. Not that it made me more eager to move, though. I sat there, spinning in my chair, thinking about all the other times I'd sat in that very nurse's station. I'd lost count of how many times I'd been to this hospital. Every once in a while, Matt would have a really bad transformation and he'd have to spend a few days at the hospital. A few of those happened when I wasn't at school and my parents would pick me up from Richard and Cinda's and then I'd have to sit around the hospital. Then there were the times my parents would hear about some cure and we'd all go to the hospital to check it out. I had no idea why my parents actually took me with them, since all I'd do was hang around the nurse's station the whole time. This time was no different. I spent the whole day sitting there, thinking and worrying. I went with Brenda to get lunch, but I didn't eat much. I couldn't think about anything besides my brother. My parents still hadn't told me anything nor had I actually seen them come out of room 306. I had noticed various healers and nurses running in and out all day, but none of them talked loud enough for me to catch anything. Brenda was getting ready to leave by the time my parents actually paid a visit to the nurse's station. Well, Dad came by. I assumed Mum was still in Matt's room. "Dad!" I jumped up and ran over to him, "How is he?" Dad rubbed his head and then leaned on the counter. He looked exhausted and scared. That was not a good sign. "Not good, Amy. He's not responding to any of the treatment." My stomach lurched and tears pricked in my eyes. Not responding to the treatment? "What does that mean?" I whispered. "It means the healers can't wake him up. As far as they can tell, he's in what Muggles call a coma. An unconscious state that a person can't be woken from by magical or medical means." I rubbed the tears from my eyes and stared down at the counter. "And wh-what's g-going to happen n-now?" "We don't know yet, Amy," Dad replied, "We're still figuring that out. Come on, you can see him now." "I'll be praying for him," Brenda said as she gathered her things, "Owl me if you need anything, day or night." "Thanks, Brenda," Dad said. I said goodbye to Brenda and followed Dad to room 306. My tears were flowing freely now and I didn't care. I hadn't felt this bad since Matt was first bitten. Dad pushed open the door and we stepped inside. Mum was sitting on a chair next to the bed and was holding Matt's hand. Her face was blotchy and she looked exhausted. Nothing could have prepared me for what my brother looked like. I had never seen him this bad. Ever. All the other times he'd had to be in the hospital, by the time I saw him he looked almost normal and was awake. This time was different. Very different. He looked so small in the huge hospital bed. He was mostly covered up by blankets, but the parts that were sticking out made me want to turn away. The arm that Mum was holding was wrapped in a bloodied bandage. His head was wrapped in a similar cloth and the parts of his hair were sticking out of it were smeared with globs of blood. His face was so scratched and bitten that it looked like, well, that he'd been attacked by a pack of wolves. I took a sharp intake of breath and slowly walked over to him. The only movement I could see was his small chest slowly moving up and down. Despite the fact that he was covered in so many injuries, he looked almost peaceful. Like he wasn't in any pain. "Matt?" I said very quietly as I crouched by the bed. My voice caught in my throat and I couldn't say anything else. This was just horrible. Amongst all my fear and sadness about my brother, there was anger for Lubar. The more I watched Matt, the more anger I felt bubbling up inside of me. How could Lubar have passed that ridiculous law? Did he even care? He didn't. That was the problem. "Amy," Mum said quietly. "Mum," I replied, my voice cracking. I pulled up a chair from the wall and dragged over next to the one Mum was sitting on. I sat down and neither of us said anything else. We didn't have to. We were both thinking the same thing. But I didn't want to think it. I didn't want to think about what could happen.
salemboy Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 1836 Location: Behind you!	Posted: Sunday 18 January 2009 05 00 39 am    Post subject: Re: XBOX 360 or PS3 in topic:XBOX 360 or PS3 I apologize for the double post, but , my PS3 died. We're getting it repaired by Sony, but I must correct my original statement. Of course, after looking it up, the problem is generally unheard of, maybe one out of every couple thousand people might experience it. In any case, most of the time, the user is able to fix it. We looked it up, and no matter what we did, would not live. So Sony's fixing it. Still, it's better than the Red Ring of Death (1 out of every 4 XBOX360s, yikes.)